Bechara el-Khoury
Bechara El Khoury was Lebanon's first president after independence and made the bargain the country has run on ever since. Born in 1890 to a Maronite family in the mountains north of Beirut, he was educated by the Jesuits and in Paris, practised law, and served as a judge and twice as prime minister under the French mandate. He founded the Constitutional Bloc in the 1930s, arguing for independence and, unusually for a Maronite politician of his generation, for an Arab rather than a French orientation. He was elected president in September 1943 and immediately moved to amend the constitution to remove the mandate's provisions. France arrested him, his prime minister Riad el-Solh and most of the cabinet on 11 November 1943 and installed a replacement. The country struck, protests spread across every community, and British and international pressure forced their release on 22 November — which is Lebanon's independence day. The National Pact he agreed with Solh was unwritten and is the country's real constitution. Christians would renounce French protection and accept Lebanon's Arab identity; Muslims would renounce union with Syria and accept the borders. The presidency would go to a Maronite, the premiership to a Sunni, the speakership to a Shia, and parliament would be divided six to five in favour of Christians on the 1932 census. He was re-elected in 1948 after amending the constitution again for himself. Corruption allegations and a general strike forced his resignation in September 1952. He died in 1964. The formula he agreed was meant to be temporary and has outlasted a civil war, an occupation and every attempt to replace it.
- Lived: 1890 CE – 1964 CE
- Nationality: Lebanese
- Roles: President of Lebanon (1943-1952)
